Impact Week: Video Blog
Reply
Monthly Archives: April 2013
Impact Week: Prayers Answered!
Ali Gilfillan is here to tell us about the Roots Mission to Cottingley. Following his last interview in March where he shared the work that was already happening in Cottingley and his hopes for the Easter Mission projects, Ali shows us where God is working in Cottingley.
“Impact Week was a real success! We had a team of 17 young people from Roots and the Cottingley Youth Project, with 7 full time leaders from Roots, and a host of other leaders from Roots and Cottingley helping to run the week. We completed nine mission projects and ran a family fun day on the estate and then worship debriefing and fun times back at St Georges each evening.”
“I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and investment in the week. Everyone who led teams, was involved in projects, fed us, let us use their showers, entertained us, slept on church floors, organised logistics, found us pots of money and free gear – there was a lot to do! And also to the congregations of both St George’s and Cottingley for their support and prayers for this event.”
Where did you see God working?
“Before Impact Week I asked people to pray for several specific areas, and I’d love to tell you how God answered these prayers:
Effective partnership between Roots, the Cottingley Youth Project, the Church in Cottingley and the local community.
We saw a great partnership between all these areas. Lottie (Roots Youth Pastor), Jude (Vicar at Cottingley) and local leaders from the Tenants and Residents Association of Cottingley (TRAC) were all very much on the same team in making the week possible, with great support from Anne Carter (Diocesan Children’s Advisor) on our kids club project. It really did feel like one team for the whole week, with everyone giving their best to the local community and each other.
That the young people of Roots would learn about and encounter God as they engage in mission.
The team debriefs really displayed what each group of young people were discovering about God and mission. There was a realisation that what they were doing wasn’t for their own benefit; one group really learnt the importance of keeping on serving, even when they found it tough. So much so, that when told to return to the community centre slightly early from a litter picking project, they arrived back with bags full of litter, being pulled on sledges made from cardboard they’d found on the estate!
That the people of the estate would develop ambitions, confidence, self worth and a desire to contribute to their community.
I know that we could never solve all of these problems in a week, but there have been some significant things to emerge from the week. I have had one local person ring me up to ask about volunteering at the Homework Club we run, which is the first time someone has approached me! We also had one team decide to make a blackboard for local residents to write on what they’d like on the estate, encouraging them to dream.
For volunteers: that God would provide enough of them, and they’d remain encouraged to keep on doing what CYP is called to do.
We certainly had enough volunteers for the week. Each team was accompanied on mission projects by a local volunteer; we also had local volunteers cooking lunches and running sections of the family fun day. They were really blessed and encouraged by the whole week and there are already calls for us to do the same thing next year!
Our prayers were certainly answered, and I’ve also seen God exceed the expectations we had for the week.
One of my main concerns was whether we’d get people along to our kids club and fun day. We had a good turn out at our kids club, and saw an estimated 200 people at our fun day, which packed out the community centre hall, and outside area – which had our bouncy castle and sumo suits on. We also saw young people really step up to the mark. Each group had a project slot which they could decide what to do with, which they really took ownership of, deciding what they wanted to do, and also making it possible. They also ran aspects of the fun day, keeping a strict and fun system for the bouncy castle, including a 10 second countdown everyone joined in for!”
What was your highlight of the week?
“My highlight of the week was definitely the fun day. It really showed how our young people could work together well to bless the community, and it was also fantastic to see the response from the community. It’s opened up conversations with local people, and really raised the profile of the church and the youth project on the estate.”
“There have been some really encouraging outcomes from the week. The local church have committed to trialing two ‘messy church’ style services to engage with families and children on the estate. Thanks must go to Anne Carter for her role in leading our team of local volunteers, who are keen to take a lead in the messy church project. We also had two young people joining the Roots team, who really grew as individuals and disciples, and it’s exciting to see them continue to grow in faith and character.”
What’s next for Cottingley?
“We’re also going to be involved in the Cottingley Summer Fair, which is a partnership project between many projects on the estate. We’ll be joining with Leeds Youth Cell Network to run some of the fair, and also do some more projects on the estate on the 18th May. So anyone who has caught the mission bug should get involved!”
For more information about Mission or Networks at St George’s please visit our website.
For more information about Cottingley Youth Project email Ali Gilfillan.
ACM 2013: Networks & Students
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Networks
With the launch of the new Transit network for young adults and three student networks there are currently 19 established networks. These networks are diverse in nature and structure, involving people of many different ages and backgrounds. They operate in different ways but all seek to grow as a family and to reach out with the good news of Jesus. Some meet regularly as one large extended family group whilst others meet more often in smaller groups and then gather together for big occasions, social events and mission projects. Helping with allotments, visiting a care home, running a pub quiz, holding a New Year party, sharing Passover, going on a weekend away, and a mission in Cottingley are just some of the things that our networks have been involved in over this year as they seek to share life and love Leeds. This year saw the start of Network Sundays when people met in networks on a Sunday evening rather than at a central evening gathering at church. We are really grateful for the commitment of our network leaders.
Students
“People from half a dozen different countries have become Christians for the first time, rediscovered their faith or seen Jesus as Lord in a new light.”
As a student team we made a strategic call to organise our ministry around multiple networks and God has honoured that decision. We now have three networks meeting weekly which accounts for 80 students – 60 meeting weekly and 20 known by name and being upheld by their network through prayer. The networks have been supported by outstanding one-off events such as Student Teas, weekends away, conferences and seminars. The depth of community and discipleship the student networks have discovered as we’ve gone through the Academy of Life has been astonishing. An overflow of that life has led to new leaders rising up to set up prayer breakfasts, outreach ventures, Alpha courses and Bible studies. People from half a dozen different countries have become Christians for the first time, rediscovered their faith or seen Jesus as Lord in a new light. It’s incredibly exciting to work at the hub of a massive community of young Christians whom God is raising up to lead the church for the next generation. We are seeing students discover a grace that allows them to risk, a faith that allows perseverance, a hope that allows perspective and a love that requires self-sacrifice. I’m honoured, humbled and my prayer is simply this: ‘More Lord’.
Click here to see Our Vision video on Networks and Student work. Click here to see stories of students sharing life and loving Leeds.
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
ACM 2013: Church & Worship
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Worship
Over the last year we have seen the worship ministry grow spiritually, numerically, creatively, in diversity, all held together in unity. We share life by setting aside dedicated times to meet together to pray for each other and for the worship life of the church. One of the ways we have been loving Leeds is by running a citywide Worship Central course, helping resource musical worship teams in eleven other churches across different denominations. We have also been loving Leeds by hosting high quality evangelistic events ranging from Carols by Candlelight to the Gospel According to Bond. These events have helped us to reach thousands of people with the gospel, many of whom were guests. As a team we are committed to both exploring fresh expressions of worship as well as standing on our rich heritage of Christian traditions.
Wrangthorn
The last twelve months at Wrangthorn have been about getting to know people and seeking to see how God wants to grow his church in this area of Leeds. A small number of people from St George’s have committed to worshipping at Wrangthorn and others have committed time and energy in prayer and service. The PCC recently agreed that our aim is for St Augustine’s to be a place of welcome and warmth, where all can encounter God and from where we reach out with the love of God to those in the local community. There are big challenges ahead as we make the most of the many mission opportunities there are at the skate park, in the student community, in the local schools and amongst the residents as well as ensuring that both our services and our buildings are accessible and inviting. We are praying for God to raise up more people to come and join us in this exciting kingdom adventure.
Community Church
Highlights:
- We have had services on most Sundays, all led by members of the Community Church with a varied selection of speakers.
- We had a wonderful weekend away at Green Gables in Scarborough where we celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee by making a hat and/or a stained glass window. Joyce Illingworth ran a thought-provoking Bible study on Esther.
- Stuart Roberts started a Community Choir and Community Church agreed to support the choir financially and a few of us joined. The choir sang at the July Community Barbecue and everyone said how good it was. They also sang at our Christmas concert. This was a great success and we had over 40 people there.
- In October when we had our Harvest Supper, Paul Clegg volunteered to sing for us. This was a huge success and people ate, stayed and were still singing next day! Thank you Paul for your support and input this year.
- Before Christmas Stuart and Paul distributed leaflets to the local area, inviting people to join the choir, and leaflets about Community Church.
- Community Church has a weekly collection for St George’s Crypt and although there are only a small number of us, this year we have donated over £500 to the Crypt which is greatly appreciated.
- In February a letter, outlining the history and needs (from our point of view) was sent to Jonathan. He and Stuart Roberts came to a DCC meeting where we exchanged information about both churches. Some proposals were put forward for the future of Community Church which need to be discussed further over the next few meetings.
- Clare Oldfield took up the post of Secretary for the year and we are grateful to her for this.
- I would like to say a big thank you to the members of the DCC for their help in the running of Community Church. I would also like to thank the whole of Community Church for their encouragement and faithfulness in making our church plant one of the longest standing in the country.
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
ACM 2013: Discipleship & Pastoral Care
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Discipleship
Academy of Life looks closely at the ways in which we share, and grow in, the life God has for us in Jesus Christ.
Since last year’s trialling of Academy of Life material with Connections Network and the staff team, we are running our first full Saturday Course with 60-70 people. Responses have been very positive. This year’s interns have also worked through the material and have been involved in teaching Academy of Life to our students, again with very encouraging results.
Our plan is to prepare the Academy of Life material for wider distribution, in St George’s and possibly beyond. More importantly we can all seek to grow, individually and together, in the True, Full, Shared, Deep, Pure, Serving and Bold Life that God has for us!
Alongside Academy of Life on Saturday mornings, the School of Theology sessions have fed and challenged Christians from St George’s and beyond.
Interns
This year we have 16 interns, four of whom are on placement in other churches around Leeds. We have developed greater flexibility in the scheme: our first older ‘Interns Plus’ and some part-time graduate interns. Our midweek training is also accessible to other interns in the region. There has been wide appreciation for the gift St George’s interns have been to the diocese, including the current placements at Wrangthorn, Christ Church Armley, Holy Trinity Meanwood and Riverside.
Running a scheme of this size has been a stretch. We will continue to reflect on how to balance the benefits of wide deployment with the need to manage the scheme well.
St Barnabas Theological Centre
In an unprecedented development in the Yorkshire dioceses, St George’s is about to launch a brand new ordination track and theological training centre with St Thomas Crookes, St Michael le Belfrey and the Yorkshire Ministry Course. Mark Powley has been working as Launch Director since January 2012 and now works two days a week for SBTC.
Teaching will begin in September in Sheffield. Ordinands will train through St Barnabas while being on long term placement throughout Yorkshire, including here in Leeds. The new St Barnabas Centre will train vicars, facilitate church planting and enable good theological teaching to reach church members in new ways.
Pastoral Care
Day by day and week by week our small groups and networks are caring for one another and demonstrating what it means to share life and to be family. Alongside this there are an amazing number of people who provide additional resources of pastoral care. We have been delighted to welcome John Walker to the team who brings wisdom, experience and availability for visiting and one to one pastoral care. We continue to give thanks for the commitment of the visiting team, the PrayerNet team who pray regularly for specific needs, for Alan Spicer, for the prayer ministry team and for many others who offer time and prayer for individuals. In all of this we ‘seek to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’
Click here to see Our Vision video on Discipleship.
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
ACM 2013: Children & Young People
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Youth: Roots
“We also just finished an exciting mission week in Cottingley where we served and blessed the community there while getting the young people excited about loving Leeds.”
Roots have had an exciting year. There are a consistent number of young people attending both our Sunday morning and Friday evening youth work – one aimed at discipling, the other aimed at giving young people a space to explore issues of faith and invite their friends. We had a successful weekend away in November where the young people went deeper in their relationships with God. We also just finished an exciting mission week in Cottingley where we served and blessed the community there while getting the young people excited about loving Leeds. There have also been a number of social events for varying ages to help build community amongst the young people, so that they can share life with each other.
Children: Explorers and ‘Pray & Play’
“We have seen children of all ages going in deeper in their relationships with God”
A key theme for this year has been relationships. We have seen children of all ages going in deeper in their relationships with God, enjoying prayer times together and becoming more willing and confident to share their thoughts. The children continue to build relationships with each other both on a Sunday morning and at other events and informal socials during the week, for example some of the girls have enjoyed meeting up for hot chocolate to share life together. Good relationships continue to be formed between leaders and parents, leaders and children and amongst the team. We have seen new families joining the church and feeling welcomed into our family as we share food and life together. Events such as ‘The Light Party’ have been places where children have invited their friends and we are looking to doing more of this in the future in various ways. As a key missional part of the 0-5s ministry, Play & Pray has seen mums becoming Christians and life being shared. We are looking forward to building on this throughout the coming year.
Click here to see Our Vision video on work with Children and Young People.
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
ACM 2013: St George’s Crypt & St George’s Centre
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Church Centre
“Over 12,000 people passed through the Church Centre doors in 2012”
The Church Centre continues to make a valuable contribution to the life of St George’s, both in financial and mission terms. 2012 saw a slowing down of room bookings in the early part of the year, mainly due to the recession. A focused marketing strategy was drawn up in the summer which helped the Centre to make a remarkable turnaround for the last quarter of the year and is something we continue to develop. Over 12,000 people passed through the Church Centre doors in 2012. Maureen, Dean and Ilona work hard to welcome and show hospitality to all who use the building which is greatly appreciated and encourages them to return on a regular basis.
St George’s Crypt
The Crypt has been especially busy, developing new and exciting projects as well as successfully managing a threefold increase in demand on services.
Demands: Due to closure of hostel spaces, we are in demand more than ever and this has led to the setting up of the HUB, an emergency 72 hour bedded service offering up to 36 bed spaces where, before, we had 12. This has meant converting our training rooms into dorms and taking on two further support workers, who are being paid by Leeds City Council.
Training and Engagement: This is proving to be the most admired activity within the sector. We have a daily programme of events such as Physiotherapy, TB screening, Arts, Drama, Cooking skills, Worship and Reflection.
Offenders and Ex-offenders: We have a working partnership with Askham Grange (women’s open prison) and Armley for offenders due for imminent release. We offer them work experience and this has been incredibly successful. We now have up to 15 current offenders working with us throughout the Charity at any given time. We have also employed 4 as Crypt staff.
Volunteers: We have been working hard at building relationships with the corporate sector as well as the University, engaging them in volunteering. This has been another success with many of the large companies sending teams in for days at a time to tackle certain areas.
Nurture: We have successfully opened the long awaited café in Armley as an extension of the shop. This is a great hit with the local shoppers and has enabled us to employ, and take as volunteers, people from the local community and Askham Grange as mentioned above. The café also links into the first Foodbank in Leeds being set up from the shop and café which has enabled great working links with Gateway church and Christ Church Upper Armley.
Finances: As always, ready cash flow is tight, but we have good management and housekeeping and we have built Reserves to ensure we can survive the coming year should our regular income streams from our donor base fall due to the present financial circumstances.
Overall, a good year with many client based projects and initiatives taking place.
Chris Fields CEO St George’s Crypt
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
ACM 2013: Mission & Outreach
“Thanks to all of you for playing your part in the St George’s family, and in furthering our mission to Share Life and Love Leeds. Thank you for giving your time, gifts, energy, commitment, prayers and financial support. It is a big team effort.” Jonathan Clark
Here is an overview of our ministries and activities in the last 12 months. Together as a Church we can celebrate what God is doing!
Alpha
“Several have becomes Christians, dozens have been encouraged in their own journey of discipleship and we have seen God at work in prayer ministry, prophetic words and healings.”
We have had another good year with Alpha as we have transitioned from leadership by Joanna to Jon. Over 200 people have been exposed to Alpha with just under 100 people completing the entire course. This has included a weekend away in the Autumn Course and a day away in the Spring Course. Guests have come from a wide variety of backgrounds, several of whom came on the course because they searched the internet or saw the banner outside. We have been particularly blessed this last year in having international tables and tables with a focus on crypt clients. Several have becomes Christians, dozens have been encouraged in their own journey of discipleship and we have seen God at work in prayer ministry, prophetic words and healings. This ministry not only serves St G’s but also blesses Christians and their guests who come from other churches in the city and beyond.
Community Mission/Evangelism
“Half a dozen people with addiction issues who have been met on the street have been placed in Christian residential centres with some of them staying several months, finding Jesus and breaking free from addiction.”
In the last year we have regularly served the local community through bridge cafe, street evangelism and through occasional events such as Community BBQ and skate park mission. Some of the contacts made through these events have come to church, some to Alpha, and others have become followers of Jesus. It is evident in these situations that God is often going ahead of us and leading us into the opportunities for prayer and ministry. The pioneering skate mission last year, in association with Leeds City Mission, was particularly encouraging as we moved into a new area with a small team but made an impact. It is likely that an ongoing regular skate mission project will be launched within the coming months. Half a dozen people with addiction issues who have been met on the street have been placed in Christian residential centres with some of them staying several months, finding Jesus and breaking free from addiction. Links with the community have also been maintained and developed through the ongoing work of community choir and English classes.
Overseas Mission
During 2012 the Overseas Mission Committee awarded seventeen grants for short term mission projects and reviewed and renewed grants for five long term partners and the Tearfund/Uganda project. News and prayer requests from long term partners were disseminated via monthly blogs on St George’s LIFE. An Xchange Xtravaganza evening was organised in July 2012, which included three speakers and a commissioning of the team to Romania. An ‘Africa’ evening in September brought together short term partners who had visited Africa and some of the African members of our congregation. In response to a request from Hugh and Heather Nelson, five members of St George’s were sent to Japan to work with the Nelson family and allow Hugh some time off. The committee is in a transition phase; seeking to encourage and resource networks to take on responsibility for supporting short term mission and the organisation of overseas mission-related events.
Click here to see Our Vision video on Mission work.
The full report is available on our website as well as Full Financial Statement. If you have any questions about the reports do contact the relevant leader, or email Jonathan Clark. Alternatively you can follow our Annual Church Meeting reports and post your comments on Twitter using #StGsACM.
Roots Cottingley Mission: After
Roots Network spent their Easter holiday serving and blessing the community in Cottingley, South Leeds. As part of Our Vision as a Church to share life and love Leeds, the young people were based at St George’s Church were they were able to hang out, pray together and receive teaching; during the day they went out to Cottingley to run workshops, litter pick, help out with gardening and show love to the people of Cottingley in practical ways.
Next week Roots are going to report back on what God was doing during the mission week, and how the ‘impact week’ has made an impact.
Blessed to be a Blessing
‘He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification’
Romans 4:25
This glorious truth should shape our identity and mission at St George’s. We are the community of the forgiven who are declared to be part of God’s new family.
In recent months I have seen a number of people come to faith in Jesus through the work at St George’s. The story of one journey to faith particularly stands out in my mind as I reflect. Struggling with addiction issues and a history of violence, a man in his late 40’s came to church 9 months ago, initially through contact having being made via Bridge Cafe. Today, this man’s life has been wonderfully transformed by Jesus. He is forgiven and knows the freedom he has in Christ, he is now part of God’s family whilst also being reunited with his own family after many years.
On top of this, the Alpha Course has continued to have a big influence upon those who attend. In this past year we have been delighted to have Alpha tables which have been particularly geared towards international students, English as a foreign language students, and a number of guests who reside at the Crypt.
God is on the move! His Kingdom is breaking in! Let us push forward confidently in mission, whether it be in Networks, the work place or family life, so to reach out to a lost and dying world in desperate need of the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
We cannot do this in our own strength, therefore let’s pray that God would send his Spirit so that, as the blessed, we can be a blessing.
St George's LIFE 